Air passenger traffic up 1% in June at Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport

Total passenger traffic for the first six months of the year was down 8 percent at the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport, still comparing unfavorably with early 2012, whose numbers included the traffic of a third air carrier, Direct Airlines. Mlive File

The monthly market share report by the local air terminal indicates it handled 21,888 passenger trips during the month, slightly ahead of 21,715 in June of 2012.

Last month’s numbers included 11,183 passenger departures, a 2 percent increase over a year earlier, and 10,705 passenger arrivals, a 1 percent decline from the 10,792 reported in June 2012.

According to information provided by Airport Director Cliff Moshoginis, the load factor (an efficiency measure, assessing how much capacity was used on each plane), improved to 67 percent last month, up from 64 percent a year ago.

Delta and its connecting carriers handled about 68 percent of the airport's passenger traffic in May while American Airlines and its regional affiliates handled 32 percent.

Total passenger traffic for the first six months of the year was down 8 percent, still comparing unfavorably with early 2012, whose numbers included the traffic of a third air carrier, Direct Airlines.

That direct-to-Florida air service discontinued its operations here and elsewhere in March of 2012.

Total passenger traffic for the first half of this year was 123,083 trips, down from 132,886 passenger trips during the first half of 2012.